


Cliffhanger Part 3: Between a rock and a hard place

by AauntyPasta



Series: Cliffhanger [3]
Category: Las Vegas (TV 2003)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fraud, Gen, Murder, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:54:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AauntyPasta/pseuds/AauntyPasta
Summary: Sam must decide whether she really wants to marry Casey’s brother, Vic, and back him with his takeover of the Montecito, or retain her place in the family that has formed under Cooper. The will doesn’t stand up to the scrutiny of the FBI’s document experts and Vic is indicted for fraud. He admits he did it just to win Sam back. Sam has a surprise that shocks everybody.





	Cliffhanger Part 3: Between a rock and a hard place

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3 of my cliffhanger series. Please read Parts 1 & 2 before you read this one or you'll be confused.

Sam had been drunk when Vic had used the same liquid courage to ask her to marry him. Now, having seen Cooper’s plans for the Montecito, she was having second thoughts. Especially after his miraculous rise from the grave, so to speak. Now, she stood in the middle of Vic’s suite in nothing but his shirt and a pair of panties and didn’t know what to do. Besides getting the Montecito back, Vic had no plans beyond marriage.

Cooper, on the other hand, had plans. Big plans. Plans that involved her. Plans that could make a lot of people very wealthy or send everyone to the poorhouse.

Now, the mysterious Mrs. Cooper was here. Cooper’s attention would be split and now was a great time for Vic to act. To push through the lawsuits before Cooper could know what hit him.

Sure, he’d fired her. He’d also re-hired her. And he apologized.

He’d turned down her idea for adding a high roller space on the casino floor only to inform her a few days later that he was building an entire high roller floor in a new tower. A new tower to be filled with just suites. A new tower that would take more than a year to build, but would likely make them money hand over fist.

She paced, weighing the pros and cons of each decision she might make until there was a knock at the door.

When she opened it, all she could see was flowers. “Delivery for Sam Marquez,” a familiar voice said. 

Sam parted the flowers to find Ed Deline smiling at her. She quickly ushered him into the suite and shut the door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “The cops are still looking for you, you know.”

“I know,” he said as he set the arrangement on the table. “But I just had to come and at least see my little girl get married.”

“A little girl no longer,” Sam reminded him. “A grown woman with a baby of her own.”

Ed smiled. “I keep telling myself that,” he said. “But I keep seeing my little girl playing with a doll.”

Sam smiled. “How are they doing?”

“The baby has been having some trouble breathing, but they say she’s going to be OK,” Ed told her. “Delinda is just a worried mother.” He looked up at Sam. “What about you?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m at a crossroads.”

“What kind of crossroads?”

“In one direction is Vic, the Montecito ownership, and an uncertain future,” Sam said. “In the other is the possibility of making more money than I’ve ever imagined. But I don’t own the hotel and I’m alone.”

Ed had to smile. “I know you have always had the tendency to push people away,” he said. “But they are there for you when you need them.” He grasped her hand. “And even though you pretend you don’t care, you do. And they know it.”

Sam had to admit he was right and said so. “But that begs the question,” Sam began. “Why did you come to see me?”

“Delinda is pretty fond of the new owner, this A. J. Cooper,” he said. “She asked me if there was anything I could do to help him retain control of the Montecito.”

“He’s been a boon to the place,” Sam said. “No experience but a lot of good ideas.” She looked at him. “And it doesn’t hurt that he’s tall, dark and handsome either.” A shrug. “Everyone in the place likes him from Danny and Delinda on down to the housekeepers and maintenance people.”

“You, too?”

“Sometimes,” Sam admitted. “The man keeps too many secrets. I mean, we knew he had a wife in absentia, but who knew he had a kid?”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Rumor mill,” Sam said. “What do you want me to do?”

“So you’re going to help?”

“Depends if the original copy of the will Vic produced would help,” she said.

“It might,” Ed replied.

“I’ll get it for you, but can you make a copy so we can have something so he doesn’t notice it’s gone?”

“If you can get me the will,” Ed said. “I can get you that copy.”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Sam waited until Vic was asleep, exhausted from the sex and the sleeping pill she had slipped in his drink when he wasn’t looking. She’d talked him into putting their own wedding off for a few days as they discussed Piper and Mike’s nuptials.

She’d slipped half a sleeping pill into his Champagne before they had sex. He would sleep for hours… at least she hoped so.

She took the will out of Vic’s inner jacket pocket, where he had been keeping it since he had showed it to her. He didn’t trust that they would somehow make it into Cooper’s hands, not even trusting her with its care.

Now, with the legal documents in her hands, she was still undecided about whether she really wanted to betray Vic. She looked back at him as he slept and felt the ache she always felt when she thought of her dead former husband. She took a breath and held back the tears, ashamed once again about how emotional she was these days.

When another thought occurred to her, she pushed it away and placed the folded papers under the plate on the room service cart and covered it with the domed metal cover. Then she pushed the cart to the door and pulled out her cell. She texted the prearranged code to the number that Ed had given her and waited until she heard the knock on the door.

She opened the door to admit her friend, a Montecito baseball cap pulled low over his face. He pushed the cart through the door. 

“Hurry, back,” Sam whispered.

The wait was agonizing, but half an hour later, another knock signaled Ed’s return. She opened the door to find a messenger with a thick envelope. “I was told to give this to you,” he said as he handed it to her. Sam started to turn to get him a tip but he waved her off. “It’s already been taken care of.”

She closed the door and ripped open the envelope. It was an excellent copy for only a half hour. Included was a note that read: Sorry couldn’t deliver in person, it read. Cops are everywhere. Ed.

Sam folded the note and put it in her black book in her purse. Then, she made sure the copy of the will was folded properly and slid it back into his pocket before getting back in the bed next to Vic.

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Sam watched Piper walk down the aisle with Cooper on her arm. After the scene with her mom, that revealed the truth about their drunk wedding and cancelled annulment, Sam was surprised that they were still going through with the farce. Mike’s mother had been touched at all the trouble they went through and insisted that when they celebrated their 40th anniversary they should have a decent video to show their kids, as well as the lovely memory.

Vic whispered about the sparks that flew between Cooper, standing in for Danny, and his wife, Alison, who had agreed to fill in for Delinda.

The moment was bittersweet for Sam. She knew what was coming. She had been informed only ten minutes before that the police were coming to arrest her fiancé. She didn’t know whether it was the internal struggle she was facing, or the sickening sweetness of the wedding taking place, but she was nauseous. 

When the ceremony ended, Mike and Piper walked back down the aisle, happy smiles plastered on their faces. Behind them, Cooper walked next to Alison, together, but obviously not, her hand barely at his elbow.

Sam gathered her purse, and moved to follow Vic out when two uniformed officers and Detective Max Dillon pushed their way through the wedding party. “Victor Manning,” Dillon said. “You are under arrest for fraud.”

“What are you talking about?” 

“The will you forged,” Dillon told him as he slapped the handcuffs on. “The guy you had do the work came forward. It didn’t take much persuasion to get him to confess.” Sam felt ill again, and Dillon continued. “Younger siblings always want what they can’t have and usually what their older sibling had.”

Sam looked at Vic. “Is that true?”

“I only did what I could to win you,” Vic said. “I knew you’d come to me if I dangled the Montecito before you.”

“Problem is,” Sam said. “You have no plans for the future beyond us getting married.” It was then that the contents of her stomach chose to make their way out and she threw up right on Detective Dillon’s shoes. She took two or three breaths before looking back up at him as the disgusted detective stood looking at his shoes. “Besides,” she said as she held her hands on her hips in an effort to not throw up again. “I think I’m pregnant with another man’s baby.”

Dillon waved the officers away. As they read Vic his rights, Dillon wrinkled his nose. “Why is it that every prego from the Montecito has to target my shoes?”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

The next morning, she sat on the bathroom floor of her suite in a bath robe and waited. At the ring of the egg timer, she hesitantly reached up to the home pregnancy test on the counter and closed her eyes as she brought it down to where she could read it if they weren’t closed. She took a deep breath then another before opening her eyes and looking at the test. There, clear as day, were two lines, she matched them to the box. Positive. She was, indeed, pregnant.

She grabbed the cell phone from the floor next to her, flipped it open and dialed the number she had been calling more lately than she probably should.

At his hello, she smiled and tried to sound happy. “Kyle,” she said. “I don’t suppose you could come to Vegas this weekend?... Yes, to gamble, but more because I need to tell you something that’s going to knock your socks off…” she laughed. “If I tell you now, I won’t have anything to tell you when you get here… Of course I’ll make the arrangements… A foundation in their memory?... That’s wonderful… I’m glad to hear that things are going so well… I’m glad I could help… You know I’d do anything for you… Of course, goodbye Kyle.” She hung up by snapping the phone closed.

She sat for several minutes with the phone against her forehead as she fought a wave of nausea. When it passed, she pushed herself off the floor and pressed one hand against her belly through the open robe. “Well, baby,” she said. “I know nothing about taking care of a child, so hopefully your daddy is good with this. I don’t know what else to do.” She breathed, trying to fend off the tears. “I don’t know. Maybe Delinda is right. Maybe I have some motherly instincts after all.”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Kyle Aldridge finished checking in then turned to watch as the bell staff escorted his luggage en route to his suite. He smiled as he caught sight of Sam Marquez as she hurried across the lobby.

“Kyle!” she called, thrilled to see him.

It had only been a few weeks since he had been here and she had helped him to feel again after the senseless deaths of his family the year before. He had set down to lunch with them at a popular café near their home in Dayton, Ohio when a man had entered the restaurant with a gun. Though Kyle had walked away with only minor injuries, his wife, Lillian, had been killed instantly, and his two older daughters, Sherri and Kevi, barely made it to the hospital before succumbing. His youngest daughter, Nikki, had taken a hit to the head and was declared brain dead, but her heart had gone to a child in Colorado who was dying from a congenital heart defect. Nikki’s other organs had been donated as well, along with those of the rest of his family. There was no telling how many people were alive because his family had died. That fact gave him a small sense of peace.

Now though, Sam was approaching with a smile like none he had ever seen on her face. Obviously, whatever she had to tell him was good news.

“Sam,” Kyle said with a smile as he embraced her. “You are practically glowing!”

“I am?” Sam said and a thoughtful look crossed her face.

“You are,” Kyle replied. “What was it you wanted to tell me?”

“Why don’t we go somewhere a little more private?” Sam said as she linked her arm in his.

Kyle almost wanted to frown, but Sam’s mood was infectious. “Then let’s head up to my suite. We can talk there.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Sam began then her phone rang and she glanced down at it to see that the caller was Cooper. “I’m really sorry Kyle,” Sam stopped. “Things have been hectic around here the last few days and I really need to take this.” She looked up at him. “Why don’t you go ahead and go up and get unpacked and I’ll meet you up there in an hour?”

Kyle nodded. “I look forward to it,” he said and headed to the elevator, leaving Sam to take the call.

“Cooper?” she began after flipping the phone open.

“Sam, could you come to my office?” Cooper asked over the phone. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Sam was curious but could tell something was not right. “Is something wrong?”

“It depends on your point of view,” Cooper replied. “Please come to my office.”

“Sure,” Sam replied. “I’ll be there.” She flipped her phone shut. The smile she had displayed for Kyle was gone and a concerned look had taken its place. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she muttered as she headed off to Cooper’s office.

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

“Come in,” Cooper called at the quiet knock on his office door.

Sam opened it and entered to find that Cooper was not alone. “Cooper?” Sam began with a question in her tone. “What’s going on?”

“You know Detective Dillon of course,” Cooper introduced and the man took a step back as Sam approached. She stifled a laugh. “This is Dooley Ferst. I often retain him to do jobs for me. He’s a Private Investigator.”

“Mr. Ferst,” Sam said as she shook the man’s hand.

“I had hired him some time ago to find my wife,” Cooper went on. “But I asked him to poke around and find what he could about Manning’s claims about the Montecito.”

“Oh,” Sam said, interested. “What did you find?”

“Did anyone tell you about the botulinum toxin they found in Casey’s system?” Ferst asked.

“I seem to remember Ed mentioning it,” Sam replied. “So he had food poisoning. So what?”

“Not botulism,” Ferst corrected. “Botulinum toxin is a deadly poison.”

Sam let that soak in. “So Casey was poisoned?”

Dillon pulled the toothpick from his mouth. “Getting to the point,” he said. “Vic is being extradited to Australia for the murder of Casey Manning.”

Sam suddenly felt faint and took a deep breath to fend the feeling off. Dillon took another step back. “Are they sure he did it?”

“The evidence I found and gave to the Australian authorities confirms it,” Ferst explained. “I found traces of the poison in his luggage and an empty syringe that tested positive for it on the boat they did their diving from. The boat was owned by Casey. The syringe had been wiped down, but there was one print found on the plunger. It matched Vic Manning.”

“What’d I tell you about younger siblings wanting what their older sib has,” Dillon commented before replacing the toothpick between his teeth.

“Did he confess?” Sam asked.

“Once faced with the overwhelming evidence,” Cooper told her. “He confessed to everything… including trying to dupe you and the IRS with the phony will.”

Sam shook her head. “I always knew he would do big things,” she said then looked up at Cooper. “I just didn’t know they would be big, bad things.”

Cooper watched her for a moment. “You OK?” he finally asked.

Sam took a deep breath. “Sure,” she said as she pasted a smile on her face. “I’m fine.”

Cooper nodded to the two men, dismissing them and they left the room, closing the door behind them. He waved Sam to a seat then sat in the chair next to it.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said.

“For what?”

Sam looked up at him. “For a lot of things,” she replied. “I’m sorry for falling for Vic’s lies and I’m sorry I got mad when you wouldn’t make my high rollers area in the casino.” She glanced at the floor then back up at him. “I’m sorry about your divorce.”

“You heard?”

“Everybody has,” Sam replied. “After the scene in the hall… it spread like wildfire.”

Cooper sighed and ran his hand down his beard. “Thanks,” he finally said. “What’s this about you being pregnant and it not being Vic’s?”

Sam winced. “Caught that did ya?” Cooper nodded. “It’s kind of a long story. Suffice it to say, I was a little messed up when I found out that my whale’s whole family had been killed by senseless violence.” Cooper nodded. “He’s here. I was on my way to tell him when you called.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Is this something that could get me fired?”

Cooper shook his head no. “Not this time,” he replied then stood. “You’d better get going. You don’t want to keep him too long in telling him he’s going to be a father again.”

Sam nodded and wiped at the tears she hadn’t realized she was shedding. “No,” she replied. “I think he’s waited long enough.”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Kyle answered promptly at Sam’s knock. The smile fell from his face when he saw her and he quickly escorted her in and to a seat on the couch. He sat next to her, grasping her hand. “That was a quick turnaround,” he said. “I hope it wasn’t bad news.”

“It was,” Sam said then took a breath. “But there’s good news to go with it.”

Kyle smiled. “Why don’t you start with the bad,” he told her. “That way it’ll make the good that much better.”

Sam nodded. “An old boyfriend came to town last week and asked me to marry him,” she said. “I said yes.”

Kyle smiled slightly. “Well, that doesn’t sound like bad news.”

“That’s not the bad,” Sam told him. “I was originally married to his older brother. Casey Manning.” She paused to shake her head. “Vic decided he was in love with me and that he wanted me and…” she fell silent as the tears threatened to fall again. “He murdered his own brother.”

Kyle’s jaw dropped in shock. “That is bad,” he said quietly as he took her hand.

“They arrested him for fraud a couple of days ago,” she went on. “He had forged Casey’s will. Now he’s being extradited to Australia. That’s where the murder took place.”

Kyle blinked. “I don’t know if the good news is going to overshadow that.”

“I certainly hope so,” Sam said. “Because you left something with me when you were here a few weeks ago.”

Kyle looked at her in surprise. “What did I leave?”

“A little part of yourself,” she went on. “I’m pregnant.”

That threw Kyle for a loop. “What?”

“I hope you aren’t mad about this,” Sam said. “I don’t think we should get married or anything, but I am not good with kids. I know nothing about babies.” She fell silent and the quiet permeated the room.

“You said it would knock my socks off,” Kyle said after a few minutes of the silence. “And you’re right. Getting married just because there’s a baby on the way would be a bad idea.” He stopped and leaned back in his seat to think. “But maybe I should stay awhile. Buy a house.”

Sam nodded. “I think I’d like that,” she said. “The baby would too.”

Kyle smiled then leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve done this before. I’ll help you with anything you don’t know.”

“Good,” Sam replied. “I’m going to need it.

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Sam protested as Delinda gently placed baby Eddie in her arms.

“You need to learn,” Delinda said. “It’s easy. Just support her head.”

Sam breathed as she held the tiny baby. Eddie looked up at her and cooed, smiling as she made happy noises. “Now what?”

“Talk to her,” Delinda said as she sat down next to her with the bottle in her hand.

Sam shrugged a little and looked back down at the bundle in her arms. “Hi Eddie. I’m Sam.”

“Auntie Sam,” Delinda corrected with a smile.

“Auntie Sam,” she amended then glanced up at Kyle and Danny as they watched. Delinda handed her the bottle. “I thought you were breastfeeding.”

“I’ve been having trouble getting her to latch,” Delinda replied. “So I pump and bottle feed her.” She smiled and looked up at Danny. “Besides. She likes eating with daddy, too.”

Sam nodded and put the bottle’s nipple in the baby’s tiny mouth. “She’s so small,” Sam commented as Eddie began sucking, still fascinated by the woman holding her. She gripped Sam’s finger, wrapping it in a warmth that ran through her body before stopping in her belly where her own baby was peacefully growing.

Delinda smiled as she watched Sam’s motherly instincts take over. “I told you that you’d be surprised by your motherly instincts when they came out.”

“I just hope I can be a good mom,” Sam said as a tear broke through her hard exterior and rolled down her cheek.

It was Danny that spoke up. “Sam,” he began and she looked up at him. “You have heart and determination…” he glanced over at Kyle. “And back-up. Besides that, you’ve got a whole lot of love to give.”

Delinda nodded. “And friends.”

Sam nodded again and smiled up at her friends. “I can’t wait to meet him… or her.”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Sam was having lunch with Alison when her water broke. She pushed herself out of her chair and felt the trickle down her leg. “What the hell?”

Alison leaned forward, concerned, with a hand on her huge belly. “What is it, Sam?”

“I think I just peed,” she said as the fluid pooled around her foot.

Alison looked at her feet. “I don’t think that’s pee,” she said.

“Then what is it?” Sam asked.

“I think your water may have broke,” Alison replied.

Alison was around six weeks behind Sam in her pregnancy, but she was larger and struggled to get to her feet. She gestured to the server who helped her up before speaking. “What can I do for you Mrs. Cooper?”

“Could you call Mr. Aldridge in 5157?” she replied. “Tell him it’s time and we’ll be waiting at the valet stand for him. Then call Cooper and tell him I’m fine. Make sure you impress that I’m NOT the one in labor.” Sam suddenly cried out as the first contraction hit. Alison gripped her hand as she timed the length of the pain then noted the time it ended so she could get the time between, too. “Tell him I’ll call him as soon as I see them off to the hospital.”

The walk to the valet stand was interrupted by a second contraction. “How long?” Sam asked as it ended.

“About five minutes,” Alison replied. “You need to remember to breathe.”

“Well it fucking hurts,” Sam replied.

“It won’t hurt so much if you do the breathing exercise they taught in our birthing class,” Alison told her. “Next contraction, give it a try.”

“I’ll try,” Sam replied. “But I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

“That’s all I ask,” Alison replied as they reached the stand and found Kyle’s car waiting.

“Mr. Aldridge called down to make sure his car would be waiting when you got here,” the valet explained as he helped Sam to the car. “He’s on the way.”

They got Sam into the car just as Kyle reached them. He slid in the driver’s seat as Sam suddenly gripped Alison’s hand with a death grip. “Please tell me you’ll be at the hospital as soon as possible,” she said.

“I’m going to go find Cooper and we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Alison soothed.

Sam released her hand and the valet closed the door. Kyle leaned forward to speak to her through the open window. “He’s on the roof checking the construction there,” he told her. “I just left him.”

Alison smiled. Kyle had been invited to invest in the Montecito not long after his move and was financing the new nightclub on the roof while the new tower was being constructed. “Thanks, Kyle,” she told him then stood and watched as they drove away.

By the time Alison and Cooper reached the hospital, Sam had been admitted and was resting in the maternity ward. “Now the real wait begins,” Kyle told her with a smile.

Sam groaned as another contraction took hold. She tried to do the breathing exercises Alison told her to do, but she found it hard to concentrate through the pain. “Can we do anything about it?” she asked when Dr. Marrs came to check on her.

“Let me check how far into labor you are,” Marrs replied. “If we administer it too early, it’ll wear off before delivery.”

Sam nodded just before another contraction hit. She screamed in pain and grabbed Kyle by the tie. “YOU DID THIS TO ME!” she screamed as Alison tried to get her to breathe.

“Come on, Sam,” she said, demanding her attention. “Breathe!”

Sam released the tie and began to breathe rhythmically with Alison. “It hurts,” she whined as the pain abated.

“I know,” Alison replied as Kyle caught his breath. “It should be over soon.”

Sam fell back to the mattress to rest as Dr. Marrs pulled the glove from her hand. “You’re doing great, Sam,” she said. “You’re at nine centimeters and one-hundred percent effaced.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Sam said wearily.

“It means you should have paid better attention to birthing class,” Alison replied with a smile.

Marrs smiled as well. “Now is the perfect time for the epidural,” she told the laboring woman.

“Oh, good,” Sam said as she gestured with her free left hand, the one with the IV, causing it to swing back and forth where it hung over her shoulder. She looked over to Kyle. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I know,” he said with a gentle smile. “You do realize that it was you who did this, don’t you?”

“I remember,” Sam replied. “I’m sorry for blaming you, too.”

Alison released her hand. “Since they’ll probably shoo me out anyway,” she began. “I’m going to join Cooper in the waiting room. I need to sit down.”

“Are you going to be here when he’s born?”

Alison nodded. “We’ll be here when your son is born,” she affirmed then left the room.

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

“He’s crowning,” Marrs announced. “When I tell you to, push.”

Sam nodded as Kyle put an arm around her shoulders and held her hand. “Where’s Alison?” she asked. “She said she’d be here.”

Dr. Marrs looked at Kyle. He looked at Sam and cleared his throat. “You remember when she went to sit down before they gave you the epidural?”

“Yeah,” Sam answered then gasped. “Oh!”

“OK, now PUSH!” Marrs ordered.

Sam held her breath as she pushed for a ten count then took a breath and pushed for another ten count, repeating the procedure until the contraction ended. She lay back on the bed and looked at Kyle expectantly.

“She wasn’t feeling well so Dr. Marrs checked her out and, well, they admitted her,” he finished.

“That’s not good,” Sam said lightly. “She’s a month early.”

“Six weeks,” Marrs said. “One or two more contractions and we should have a baby.”

“What about Alison’s baby?”

“Alison’s babies will be just fine,” Marrs replied. “She gave me permission to tell you we got the labor stopped and if she can carry for a couple more weeks, they will all be fine.” She paused as she observed another contraction beginning on the monitor. “Here we go, Sam! Now Push!”

Two pushes later, Dr. Marrs lay the wailing newborn on Sam’s chest and handed a pair of scissors to Kyle so he could cut the cord.

“Wait a minute,” Sam stopped. “Babies?”

Marrs looked at her in confusion. “You mean you didn’t know?”

“I just thought she was going to have a huge baby,” Sam said as she cradled her son. He began to calm and looked up at her. “Well hello, you. So you’re the one who was kicking me all these months.” She leaned in to give him a peck on the bald head. “I hope you’re going to grow some hair soon.”

Marrs looked up as Kyle smiled. “Kyle, why don’t you take your son to the pediatrician so she can look him over.”

Kyle gently lifted the baby from his mother’s chest. Sam watched before turning back to Dr. Marrs. “How long have they known?”

“Since she moved here with their daughter,” Marrs replied. “I take it they kept that a secret.”

“They seem to be pretty good at secrets,” Sam told her. “I mean no one knew for sure they had a daughter until Alison walked through the doors with her. Until then, it was just rumor.”

Marrs nodded as Kyle brought the baby back. “Seven pounds eleven ounces,” he announced. “Twenty inches. Most perfect baby the doctor’s seen in awhile.”

“You’re kidding,” Sam said as she took the baby from him. “Seven Eleven?”

“Dead serious,” Kyle said with a smile. “What did you expect when his mother works in a casino?”

 

LVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLVLV

 

Amelia sat on the floor of Sam’s suite and played peek-a-boo with her son, Jacob Kyle. He gurgled at her and Sam held out a small bottle to her. “You want to feed him?”

Amelia smiled. “Sure,” she said as she took the bottle. “I can practice for my babies.” She put the nipple in his mouth and he began to suck hungrily.

“You excited?” Sam asked as she sat down on the nearby couch.

“Very,” Amelia said. “My babies get to have a normal childhood. Not drug all over the place.”

“Did you get to see your dad very much?”

“Not as much as I wanted,” the child replied. “But I have him all the time now and it’s great.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Sam replied.

Amelia sat in silence until Jake finished his bottle when she took it out of his mouth and handed it to Sam. “Do you think mom with have the babies today?”

Sam shrugged. “Today or tomorrow,” she replied. “We’ve had a real baby boom around here. Haven’t we?”

“Yeah,” Amelia replied. “We just need to get Mike and Piper to have a baby and we’ll all have babies.”

Sam smiled and mussed her hair. “Piper swears she’s waiting a few years. Wants it to be just her and Mike for a year or two.”

Amelia shrugged. “Her mom and Mike’s mom and dad have been after them to have a baby now.”

“That usually happens with newlyweds,” Sam replied. “Do you know what your mom and dad are having? I mean boys or girls?”

“They want a surprise, but I hope it’s one of each,” the child replied. “A baby sister that I can dress up and a baby boy for daddy. Because my big brother died.”

Sam looked at her in shock. “They had another baby?!”

Amelia nodded. “He was born early but died.” She looked up at Sam as Kyle joined them. “They broke up when I was born.”

Sam leaned forward. “You know that’s not your fault. Right?”

“You think so?”

Sam glanced up at Kyle and he gave her an encouraging smile. “I know so,” she replied then leaned back to gesture for the child to crawl into her lap. “Come here.”

Amelia snuggled down into Sam’s lap as Kyle picked Jake up and sat down beside them. “I just got a call from your dad,” he said. “Your siblings are here and in good health.”

“Really?”

Kyle nodded. “One boy, one girl.”

Amelia smiled. “YAY!”

“How big?” Sam asked.

“About five pounds each,” Kyle replied. “Also both around fifteen inches long.”

“Is that big?” Amelia asked.

“That’s pretty small,” Kyle told her. “But your dad said they are healthy. That’s what counts.”

“Can we go see them?”

Sam smiled up at Kyle expectantly. “Well, Delinda is going to come up in a few minutes to take you over to the hospital,” he said. “Sam and I will be there later. Sound good?”

“Sounds great!” Amelia said as she leapt from Sam’s lap and began to dance around singing, “I’m a big sister, yeah, yeah!”

Sam looked up at Kyle and he leaned in to kiss her on the lips, surprising them both. “Was that OK?”

Sam nodded. “You can do it again if you want.”

Kyle leaned in and gently kissed her again. When they ended it and looked up, Amelia was giving them a silly grin. “Are you going to get married now?”

Sam and Kyle could only smile back.


End file.
